Groundbreaking Held for Housing and Job Training Initiative in St. Paul

Updated: 12/03/2013 5:25 PM KSTP.com
By: Megan Stewart

Photo: Photo: KSTP/Jim O'Connell

While Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak was at the new Vikings stadium groundbreaking, St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman kicked off the groundbreaking of construction on Tuesday of single family homes in the city's Frogtown neighborhood.

Coleman was joined by City Council member Dai Thao, Goodwill/Easter Seals and Urban Homeworks for the initiative. The crews that will construct the homes are participants of Goodwill/Easter Seals Minnesota’s construction training program.

The program has received $200,600 in funding from the City of Saint Paul’s Human Rights and Equal Economic Opportunity Department. The construction training program includes 12 weeks of combined classroom and hands-on instruction to prepare participants for a career in the construction trades.

The program targets income-qualified women and minority residents who face various obstacles to gainful employment.

Once finished, the new affordable, owner-occupied single-family homes will be sold by Urban Homeworks to income-qualified households.

There are more than 100 vacant residential buildings in the Frogtown neighborhood, most of the property in the area is rentals.